Both players had to be substituted during the loss to West Brom on Saturday and now look set to spend an extended period on the treatment table.

Jelavic is thought to be suffering from a knee injury while Hernandez, a summer signing from Italian side Palermo, has an adductor muscle problem to contend with.

An official statement on the club website said Jelavic “is expected to be sidelined for between three and six weeks”.

On Hernandez, the statement says he has “a small grade two tear for which the normal recovery timeframe is around four to six weeks”.

On a more positive note, manager Steve Bruce will have playmaker Gaston Ramirez and forward Sone Aluko fit for the game, while young left-back Andrew Robertson is expected to return at the end of the month.

“Ramirez is making a quicker than expected recovery from a groin problem picked up against Everton on New Year’s Day while Aluko is also progressing well after missing the weekend defeat at West Brom with a calf injury,” said the website.

Hull are currently third from bottom in the Premier League table and face a trip to London to take on seventh-placed West Ham on Saturday afternoon.

Sean Lunt

Sean Lunt is a Journalism and Spanish graduate with a passion for football. As an avid Everton fan he has survived the Walter Smith era, enjoyed the resurgence under David Moyes and is now wholly embracing the Spanish revolution with Roberto Martinez. Away from Everton he follows the rest of the football league and has a particular interest in La Liga.